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January 24, 1975

Richfield, OH US

Setlist:

Rock and Roll, Sick Again, Over the Hills and Far Away, In My Time of Dying, The Song Remains the Same, Rain Song, Kashmir, The Wanton Song, No Quarter, Trampled Underfoot, Moby Dick, How Many More Times, Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love, Black Dog, Communication Breakdown.

Notes:

RICHFIELD - Led Zeppelin spent their first hour on stage at the Coliseum Friday night playing music that was howlingly loud, but soggy and spiritless.

It may have been the effects of guitarist Jimmy Page's intermittent slugs on a Jack Daniel's whisky bottle, or they might just have needed to get some adrenalin moving, but after that first hour the band caught fire and soared through the rest of the concert.

In their seven years together, the members of Led Zeppelin have perfected a raucous, straight-ahead form of rock and roll steeped in blues and heavy metal overtones.

THE HEAVIEST musical weight falls on the shoulders of Page, whose incomparable guitar work overshadowed the efforts of his three cohorts.Rail-thin, with a frazzled mop of black hair, Page dominated the evening with solos and fills that alternately screamed in intricate anguish or roared through dense, monstrous chordings.

Strutting and stalking across the stage, he directed most of his intensity toward his Gibson, slung almost knee-level. Simply, he proved he is one of the premier rock guitarists.

Initially, a disappointment was vocalist Robert Plant who demonstrated his vocal pipes are almost shot from years of abused singing in the alto range. After an hour of rasping and shouting his way through several songs, though, Plant showed the audience he can still sing like a banshee.

DRUMMER John Bonham and bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones filled in the bottom of Zeppelin's sound. Bonham delivered a 15-minute version of the drum Solo, during which he abused his drum kit with sticks, palms and fists, all at a thundering volume. Jones demonstrated unexpected keyboard work with some neat, electric piano solos.

And, yes, they were loud. Pushing their music through a quadrophonic sound system that carries an estimated 8,000 watts, the band produced a sound that bypassed the ears, settling in the chest cavity and exploding into the cerebral cortex of a listener.

Their offerings from the yet unreleased album were greeted politely by crowd members, most of who roared in frenzied appreciation as they recognized the opening phrases of a familiar song.

IN QUICK succession, they blasted out their well-known numbers: "The Song Remains the Same," "How Many More Times,", "Whole Lotta Love" - gathering strength and momentum with each.

The last number of their prepared set was "Stairway to Heaven," a piece that has become almost a litany to rabid Zeppelin listeners. They shouted for it, then quietly sang the words with Plant. It began quietly, gently and gathered force through its 10 minutes until it peaked amid a din of bellowing listeners who had shot to their feet even before the song had ended.

The audience demanded and got two encores. And watching the dazed exhausted listeners leave the hall, it was obvious the band had succeeded. [By B.VON STERNBERG | Beacon Journal. Jan 1975]